New CMS rule would delay deadline for e-records data

The federal government proposed rules Friday to simplify requirements for its new electronic health record system while also pushing back deadlines for providers by several months.

The new rules from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) would reduce the number of ways that doctors must demonstrate they meet the guidelines of “meaningful use” of e-records, according to a 200-page regulation released late Friday.

As CMS tweaks its system to follow the new standards, it will no longer require eligible providers to submit their data between January 2016 and December 2016. The previous deadline was November 2015.

Officials said the new rules, which come several years after the administration began tying payments to e-record use, will reduce redundancy and make it easier for doctors to prove they are complying.

“The proposed rule issued today is a critical step forward in helping to support the long-term goals of delivery system reform; especially those goals of a nationwide interoperable learning health system and patient-centered care,” the CMS wrote in a statement.

Providers will now have to report on between six and 10 objectives, which the agency estimates will take “approximately 10 minutes to attest to each,” in addition to the 90 minutes to fill out annual clinical quality measures.

The proposed rules also delay the implementation of the e-records by aligning the reporting deadlines to the calendar year instead of the fiscal year.

Doctors and hospitals have been under more intense pressure to meet the government’s new requirements for electronic medical records, which were put into law under ObamaCare.

Obama administration has paid more than $15 billion in incentive payments for e-records.

The Obama administration has encouraged “meaningful use” of e-records to make healthcare providers more efficient and cut down on communication errors that can harm patients. But the effort has come under fire from some providers who say patients are harmed by the cuts to their reimbursement rates when they don’t meet the standards.

Within three years, providers will face up to a 3 percent cut in their payments. The steep investment costs — about $165,000 for an average five-person practice in the first year — continue to be a burden.